LISTEN YOUR BODY

LISTEN YOUR BODY

According to the World Health Organization, stress is the evil of the XXI century; It strikes us more than any previous generations.

 

If in the past there were real threats to which it was possible to react (or from which to escape), never as today we are confronted with “virtual” threats:

often these are harmful thoughts (like that irrational fear that something bad can happen),

of bad mental habits (we misinterpret the reality around us on the basis of some inner filters also due to what we have been taught as righteous by society)

or of heavy thoughts that Our mind cannot let go.

And between frustration at work and a stroke of nervousness for some situations that take our energy, we lose the present and risk to make the body sick.

The problem is that if our society has evolved and we can (rationally speaking) make the difference between real and virtual, our mind still works as in the past and triggers in the face of a presumed threat the same physiological reactions that in case of real threat:

It will put the body in a position of fight or flight. But if objectively there is nothing to escape, how could it end?

 

“Men are not prisoners of their destinies, but they are only prisoners of their minds.”
(Franklin D. Roosevelt)

When the mind is lost:

When we face a real problem and we have to act quickly, the body enters a mode that allows him to concentrate all their energy in a precise action: after the adrenaline rush and concrete action (fight or flight), will follow a moment of relaxation during which the body can recover the dispersed energies.

 

But if we are confronted with “virtual” problems, such as mental loops, job frustrations, economic problems, worries about the future, etc., the energy released by the adrenaline rush cannot be used to act (or escape), and therefore there It will be the phase of relaxation.

 

And as long as what stresses us remains very present, we will be subjected to continuous releases of adrenaline, as if they were small electric shocks. If we want to avoid these devious torture sessions lasting weeks, months, years, it will be useful to learn how to pull the plug.

Guide Your Mind:

If you ask a person where they are in their body, they will be more likely to answer that they ate in their head; And in part, it is: we are so accustomed to thinking that we have forgotten how to inhabit our body, now become a sort of bulky accessory, an appendix, of our mind.

 

The irony is that without the body you cannot live, but without the suffocating thoughts of your mind you can very well do it. That said, It is necessary to make a clarification: while solving problems, creating, designing something new, it can be positive mental activities, the loss in mental loops or dysfunctional thoughts is not.

If your ideas remain in the ether and do not lead you anywhere, they do not carry anything concrete that can influence the material plane, with great probability your mind is teasing you, or you are lost somewhere.

To regain control of the situation, you will agree

to listen to your body and get off from them.

To find oneself in the body, one should do an exercise of awareness.

Maybe it’s happening to you right now as you read this:

your breath is short, your shoulders are contracted and your back is arched forward?

It is not a healthy position, nor the expression of a serene being that is well.

Bringing your attention to the body, its position, the muscular tensions, the small discomfort, can help you to understand what background thought is taking away energy.

You could do a body scanning exercise to better identify which part of your body is suffering.

 

 

Bodily scanning, an exercise to give voice to the body:

Put your attention to your physical sensations (do not think about the body, feel it, perceive it) and slowly get back from the feet to the head, passing through the legs, the pelvis, the arms, etc.

Concentrate each time on perceiving the body and feel if the feeling that it sends to you is pleasant or not.

If you notice that you inadvertently hold your shoulders up, voluntarily bring them back to a natural position. Do it with patience and kindness to yourself.

 

This exercise helps you to restore importance to body language and your physical sensations and at the same time, allows you to take the reins in your hand for a while. Your mind will have to wait until you have finished checking that your body is well before you have your attention again.

 

You’ll notice that as you continue with this simple practice, you will feel more present, calmer and less anxious; Frustrations and unnecessary thoughts will gradually be less important and you’ll have more attention in finding concrete solutions to your problems instead of letting your mind take you for a walk who knows where. Your body is yours yet, use it when you feel lost.

 

If in the future you feel like losing yourself in your thoughts or being so fossilized in “autopilot” mode that you can no longer focus on constructive thinking without losing the thread, take your attention to what perceives the body at that moment, and you’ll see that with patience and kindness, your mind will meekly return the reins to you. With time and practice, you will understand that it is not your mind to have the real control of your life, even if for a long time you have let it believe, and that your body also has a lot to teach you if you give it the opportunity.